Star Wars Episode VIII: The Dark Order
by Young Sandwich
Summary: (*SPOILERS*) Force Awakens story continued in the next episode of the saga. The Resistance has joined forces with the New Republic and stepped up its fight against the First Order. Rey has found Luke Skywalker and hopes to become a Jedi, strong enough to defeat the evil Kylo Ren.
1. Intro: Title Crawl

**STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII**

 **THE DARK ORDER**

INTRO: TITLE CRAWL

War has broken out in the galaxy after the destruction of the Hosnian System. The New Republic has joined forces with the Resistance in a combined effort to rid the galaxy of the nefarious First Order.

With the destruction of the Starkiller Base, the First Order has taken hold of numerous systems around the galaxy to use as bases of operations and increase their sphere of influence. The New Republic Army has begun planning numerous assaults on these planets with hopes of finding and destroying Supreme Leader Snoke.

Elsewhere, the scavenger Rey has managed to locate Luke Skywalker. The two have begun Rey's Jedi training in isolation away from the conflict...


	2. Chapter 1: No Retreat

CHAPTER 1: NO RETREAT

The jungle planet of Dostlo is the scene of the newest battle between the First Order and the New Republic. TIE fighters are being blown from the sky as the Resistance Air Fleet claims air dominance. Stormtroopers on the ground flee to the last remaining hangars in the jungle in a desperate attempt to escape the planet. Republic fighters follow in hot pursuit, giving chase through the dense terrain, firing upon the retreating stormtroopers.

The First Order's last remaining base on the planet is under fire and almost completely in ruins. With only a handful of TIE fighters left still operational, it is a free-for-all among the retreating stormtroopers. Two panicked stormtroopers manage to discover a turned over TIE fighter and rush to see if they can still power it. Before they can reach the ship, however, an X-Wing descends from the sky and fires a canon at the stormtroopers, knocking them backwards. Before one of the stormtroopers can make it back to his feet he is sliced by a lightsaber. Rey stands over the now lifeless soldier as blaster sounds echo through the base around her.

The other stormtrooper manages to stand and is horrified at the sight of Rey above his comrade's corpse. He raises his blaster and fires sporadically while trying to back away from the scene. Rey effortlessly deflects the blasts with her lightsaber and slowly walks toward the trooper. It's all too much for the stormtrooper and he drops his blaster and makes a dash for the TIE fighter. Before he can take even five steps he is thrown through the air and pinned to the TIE fighter. With anger in her eyes, Rey walks up to the stormtrooper and pierces him through the back with her lightsaber. The strike is made with such force that when Rey finally releases the dead trooper from her force grip, a clear hole is visible in the TIE fighter.

"What have you done?" a familiar voice calmly asks.

Rey turns to see Kylo Ren, lightsaber in hand, standing behind her. Finally, her training would finally allow her to get her revenge. Revenge for her friend Finn, revenge for all those people killed by Starkiller, revenge for the man's own father.

"You can't defeat me. You should have learned that by now. You know it, I know it," she says.

"You know nothing of my power. I've been training since the last time we met. I've become strong with the dark side. Now, I am unstoppable," he says as he approaches her.

The two begin their lightsaber battle. After trading blows, Rey's one-handed elegance with Luke's lightsaber begins infuriating Kylo Ren. How can she be this powerful? Kylo Ren's anger gets the best of him and he accidentally strikes the fuel tank of the TIE fighter while trying to hit Rey. He goes flying through the air and lands yards away, cape and hood charred. As he stands he notices his lightsaber missing. Rey moves quickly to meet him face to face, dropping Luke's lightsaber in favor of Kylo's. She strikes him through the chest with his own lightsaber and he gasps in pain.

"I told you. You can not defeat me anymore," she says.

"Wh-wh-why?" the voice is no longer Kylo's.

Kylo Ren's mask falls off to reveal Han Solo. He is in pain. The same pain Rey saw on his face when Kylo pierced him on the Starkiller base. The battlefield on Dostlo fades away and suddenly they are there again on the bridge on Starkiller, but this time Rey takes Kylo's place. Han puts his hand gently on Rey's cheek and almost tries to say something. Rey quickly removes the lightsaber to ease his pain but it's too late. Han begins to fall and Rey's hands simply pass though his arm as she tries to stop the past from repeating itself. Han falls into the abyss and Rey hears herself scream from above. She watches as Chewbacca fires at her from a distance. The blast tears into her and she is returned to the battlefield on Dostlo.

Tears flood her eyes as she is left trying to comprehend what has just happened.

"Rey!" Finn screams.

Rey turns to see Finn, dressed in stormtrooper armor, lying on the ground. His back is slashed and it is clear he was one of the men she struck with her lightsaber. She runs to him but the ground begins to swallow her. As it does she hears herself as a child.

"Comeback!" the child screams to her as she is eaten completely by the ground.

Rey wakes up screaming, covered in a cold sweat. Rays of sun pass through the hastily built shack Luke had built. She sits up in her small bed and hears R2D2 ask her in that series of beeps and boops if she is okay. This was the daily routine for her now. Waking up screaming, having R2D2 ask if she's okay, then going to meet Luke at the highest point of the island. She didn't know where he went at night; she had thought to ask him but decided against it. She didn't want to pester him with her questions. She sends R2D2 to meet her at the top of the island and prepares for her next training session.

After getting dressed and tying her hair in her signature three bun style, Rey leaves the shack behind and begins her morning trek to the top of the island. Luke hadn't taught her much in the time they'd spent on the island. Only that her first phase of Jedi training is to calm her mind and find serenity. Until she can do that, he said, they can not continue her training. She had done it only once before, on Starkiller, when she was facing Kylo Ren. That was when she felt the force was strongest with her, when she calmed her mind and allowed herself to focus. Ever since that day she has had nothing but fear and anger in her mind. Not a single night has gone by without some type of nightmare. The nightmares were always about her abandonment on Jakku, watching her younger self cry out for a family she couldn't remember, to return to her.

As she walks up the dilapidated stone steps up the hill, she looks to the southern beach of the island. The Millennium Falcon is still in the same spot she left it when she and Chewbacca first arrived. Chewbacca refused to leave the island until instructed to do so by Luke, and Luke has yet to even greet Chewbacca at the beach. As Rey gets higher up the island she sees Chewbacca through the Falcon's front visor, it looks like he decided to sleep in the cockpit last night. Surprisingly enough, he was fine with not seeing Luke. She continues up the hill until finally reaching the top. Luke is already there speaking with R2D2 when he notices her.

"R2 tells me you had another nightmare. What was this one about?"

"I-It was the same as always master."

"Jakku. Is that all? Nothing more?"

She thought for a brief second. If she tells Luke about the entire dream he may lose faith in her training completely. To lie to her master in the beginning stages of her training would be getting off on the wrong foot but she wants his confidence. She shakes her head, no. Luke turns back to R2D2 who responds in beeps and boops.

"Well then, I think it's time we take your training to its next phase," he says.

"What exactly does that mean master?"

"Im taking you to my Jedi Temple."

Rey's eyes open wide as she turns in the direction of the Millennium Falcon, now out of sight thanks to the hills and rocks. They hadn't left the island since she arrived and she was beginning to think that this was where she would be doing the bulk of her training after Luke refused to go back to the Resistance base on D'Qar. She was filled with excitement at the prospect of going to a Jedi Temple. She had heard stories of the great temple in Coruscant before its destruction after the rise of the Empire.

"Really? That's wonderful! Where is it?"

"Over there," Luke gestures to another small island off in the distance.

Rey looks but can only see a dense tree line. Confusion and disappointment set in, it must be visible on her face because Luke begins to laugh. It's the first time she's seen him this happy.

"What? Were you expecting something a bit more exotic? Sorry but we're staying local for this. C'mon."

Luke takes her and R2D2 to the beach on the opposite side of the island from the Millennium Falcon. There they have a clear view of the island, still guarded by its dense tree line.

"Well I suppose a mile in that direction could still be considered exotic, considering that as long as I can remember i've spent my life living on a desert junkyard of a planet," she replies. It was true, Jakku was a wasteland and she has come to accept that the family she's spent her life waiting for had no intention of returning to her. At least that's what she's been telling herself since she left. Maybe that is what's causing the constant nightmare of her younger self. It doesn't, however, explain the new battle part. She turns away from the view and begins heading back.

"Where are you going?"

"Uh, to the Falcon."

"No, no, no. We're not flying there."

"Oh," Rey tried her best to sound dignified, as if she completely understood what was going on, "well I suppose I could swim there. I've never swam before but, as I have come to realize, i'm a quick learner. But what about you? Unless, I'm sorry, of course you can swim there, your a Jedi Master."

"What? Oh no, there's no way I could swim that... or you for that matter. These waters are filled with man-eating Razor Fins. Spend too much time splashing around in the deep water and they'll swim to the surface and eat you whole."

Rey's shoulders drop in embarrassment. Is there some sort of easy answer to how they would get to the island that only Luke knows about? Luke begins laughing again and puts his hand gently on her shoulder.

"Rey, we're going to walk there. I'm going to teach you to walk on water."


End file.
